Editorial Saving AP Credit and Charging to the Chip

Author: Campus Editor in Chief

Saving AP Credit

A vote at next Monday's faculty meeting will determine the fate of Advanced Placement (AP) credit at Middlebury College. There's a contingent of the faculty that advocates severing the policy that awards college credit for performance on AP exams taken in high school.
We caution against this route. Though these exams should never substitute for a complete college experience, AP credit injects valuable flexibility into a student's four years here.
During times of transition, students with a bushel of AP credits can feel free to drop to three courses, allowing them to get their bearings and channel energy into a smaller course load. AP credits also enable students to study abroad without worrying whether their coursework will translate to a full semester's worth of credit. This opens up opportunities for non-constituted academic experiences, such as internships, travel or independent research.
We place a premium on flexibility. So should the faculty.
Discontinuing AP credit would sideline the flexibility that students value in their educational experience. The Middlebury Campus therefore opposes a wholesale ban on AP credits at the College.
We are concerned, however, about the rare student who activates 9 AP credits and graduates a full year early. It's delusional for any assortment of AP exams to masquerade as a full year of college coursework.
To remedy this problem, we propose a cap of four AP credits that may count towards graduation. We want to preserve flexibility. We want to acknowledge the legitimacy of AP exams. But we also want to prevent abuse of the system.
We ask the faculty to hear our voice.

Charging to the Chip

Be forewarned.
The golden chip is about to be stripped of its powers.
The Campus was dismayed to learn that the Executive Council voted to eliminate the credit system that enables students to charge College purchases to their PIN Bills.
Think of that cup of coffee you grabbed at The Grille this morning. Or those textbooks you charged in early February.
Starting in the fall of 2004, these charges will be debited from a balance that students must deposit in advance. Gone are the days of carefree charging, only to receive a weighty PIN bill at the end of the month.
This reform will certainly put an end to delinquent PIN Bill accounts. It will also cause unnecessary hardship for the majority of students who use the system responsibly.
Does the Executive Council expect students to pay cash for textbook bills that reach into the hundreds of dollars? And what if you're on the phone and your debit account runs dry? Does the line go dead?
Eliminating the credit system generates these problems and more, especially for students who rely on their College paycheck for personal spending money. Without charging privileges, these students may experience lean financial times between paychecks.
We also regret that the Executive Council reached its decision behind closed doors. Student input could have flagged key areas of concern before the final vote was taken.
We lament the passing of the days when students were trusted to pay their bills. And we lament the unilateral action taken by the Executive Council on an issue that so affects the student body.